Waiting for a break in the monsoon - the grimy truckstop of Ramnager

Rainy Nainital
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Where there is a will there is a way..

We may have found a way into Corbett NP. We've come all this way and found that it is shut due to the monsoon. The last jeep out of the park was yesterday and now find ourselves trapped in a Ramnager during the monsoon where it is constantly raining. Morale has hit rock bottom - today has been rather infuriating.

An Indian professor and his family were there and engaged me in conversation. He had taught in London, I asked him what he thought about it? Just like here - crowded and full of Indians was his answer. I rather liked that.

Monkeys on the road to Ramnager
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The day began in lovely Nainital. Every visitor to India has to register with the police and every time I check into a hotel I have to provide them with passport no, home address, and next destination so extricating myself from hotel Ashok was rather lengthy this morning. But also I got one last look at Naini Lake. I stood and watched the swathes of mist roll up from the lake to the bungalows of the 'pukka' and 'memsahibs'. I can see why the British liked the place so much it reminded them of Switzerland or the Lake District.

Then forty miles of switchback roads down to Ramnager and the Corbett NP. It was just as terrifying as the ascent and after a while he pulled up into a roadside dhaba for a refreshing cup of tea. An Indian professor and his family were there and engaged me in conversation. He had taught in London, I asked him what he thought about it? Just like here - crowded and full of Indians was his answer. I rather liked that.

We reached Ramnager to find a grimy one-horse town dominated by huge trucks passing through. We stopped at the park entrance gate and were stunned to find no permits were allowed for Corbett. Everything has closed for the monsoon and the tourist services stopped just in case the elephants trip over in the mud. There is a chance that permits be permitted tomorow if the weather improves. Do I want to push on to Rishikesh? I said no - it would be another five hours and Suresh looks tired.

The Everest hotel was a good one with a nice proprietor who told us the roads in Corbett were flooded and impassable. We decided to risk an overnight just in case the weather improves and Suresh set me up with a travel agent which does tours to the Jhirna gate. So we settled into Hotel Everest and made friends with an American traveller Eleanor and some Danish lads. Each had headed to Ramnager before the monsoon hit and had been caught out.

Still, it was a nice evening sitting chatting about India on the veranda drinking beers - which in India is as furtive as buying pornography...